Techno-News Blog

By Daniel Willingham, Washington Post

New technologies seem to touch every part of our lives: How we socialize, how we do business, how we elect people to our government and so on. Is it equally obvious that these new technologies affect the way we think? Are the very brains of our students being changed by new technologies? And if so, should teachers contemplate new methods of instruction to teach these changed brains?

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/daniel-willingham/is-technology-changing-our-bra.html

By Jacques Kelly, The Baltimore Sun

The banks of crowded computers illustrate the changing role of libraries, where technology is replacing paper and the throngs keep coming. Libraries are busy providing research services, such as job hunting and resumes, to people who don’t have these resources at home. And more changes are on the way, such as plans to allow electronic books to be downloaded for free on reading devices. To be sure, Baltimore’s library system houses a lot of paper — everything from a first edition of a Beethoven score to copies of the teen sensation “Twilight.” But it is evolving. And Hayden, who recently received national recognition and a handshake from President Barack Obama on the White House lawn, is embracing the new world of the energetic, electronic library.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-pratt-hayden-20100705,0,7135455.story

by Kenneth Green, News Examiner

Despite the explosion in new forms of digital media, libraries are now ready to fade away just yet. But the way they look may soon be a thing of the past. As the public begins embracing gadgets like the iPad and Kindle, the popularity of e-books, digital audio and downloadable movies has skyrocketed and organizations like the Denver Public Library are determined to not be left behind.

http://www.examiner.com/x-41664-Denver-Top-News-Examiner~y2010m7d5-Denver-Public-Library-embracing-ebook-digital-audio-technology

By Michelle Maisto, eWeek

Apple is reportedly readying a new MacBook Air, as well as a new iPod Touch, DigiTimes reported July 15, citing its senior analyst, Mingchi Kuo. Kuo, reportedly basing her information on discussions with “upstream component makers,” said the new MacBook Air will feature an Intel Core i series ultra-low-voltage processor, a slimmer and lighter design, and an 11.6-inch display.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Desktops-and-Notebooks/Apple-MacBook-Air-iPod-Touch-Refresh-Coming-Report-507180/?kc=rss

By Clint Boulton, eWeek

The Federal Communications Commission wants to invest in broadband infrastructure to power some 2,000 rural hospitals and clinics in the U.S. The move is part of the agency’s plan to pump $400 million per year into health care IT.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Health-Care-IT/FCC-Earmarks-400M-for-Rural-Healthcare-Broadband-747611/?kc=rss

By Clint Boulton, eWeek

Google could parry Apple’s purchase of mobile personal assistant application for the iPhone by buying Vlingo, whose Android application now lets users call out to the Web to find taxis and restaurants with their voices. When Apple acquired Siri in April, industry watchers immediately wondered how Google would respond. Siri created a personal assistant application that enables users to speak requests such as “find me a taxi,” or “book me a reservation at a French restaurant,” and have their action items fulfilled.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Search-Engines/Google-May-Find-Answer-for-Apple-Siri-in-Vlingo-751820/?kc=rss

by Rory Cellan-Jones, the BBC

The government has pledged to make the UK the fastest broadband nation in Europe by 2015 and provide a minimum 2Mbps to every home. But while many people already have high speed connections, broadband remains unavailable in some rural areas and businesses say it is holding them back.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10644030

By Jonathan Fildes, BBC

Ethan Zuckerman is a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society “The internet has not become the great leveller that it was once thought it could be,” according to Harvard academic Ethan Zuckerman. Mr Zuckerman was speaking at the TED Global (Technology Entertainment and Design) conference in Oxford. He said that the web was now contrary to the original utopian vision and users focused on information from a handful of wealthy countries.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10642697

by the BBC

Twitter has been used by everyone from Lady Gaga to Iranian protestors. With a 140 character limit on each entry it could be described as the Haiku poetry of the internet. Launched just four and a half years ago in humble surroundings on the West Coast of America, like most things that catch the globe by storm Twitter now sets the industry standard. Katty Kay spoke with its co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams about the ever growing community that is living online.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10652690

By SETH BORENSTEIN, Associated Press

It’s all so familiar. A technological disaster, then a presidential commission examining what went wrong. And ultimately a discovery that while technology marches on, concern for safety lags. Technology isn’t as foolproof as it seemed. Space shuttles shatter. Bridges buckle. Hotel walkways collapse. Levees fail. An offshore oil rig explodes, creating the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The common thread — which the new presidential oil spill commission will be looking for — often is technological arrogance and hubris. It’s the belief by those in charge that they’re the experts, that they know what they’re doing is safe. Add to that the human weaknesses of avoidance, greed and sloppiness, say academics who study disasters.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jhcf6M5u4DgrphRfJg9ew8S5LAvQD9GSUQIO0

by REUTERS

Watching television in three dimensions at home could become mainstream in as little as two years as prices for 3D TV sets drop and events like the soccer World Cup raise awareness of the technology. Although many believe that consumers will never want to wear 3D glasses at home, and 3D TVs have only been on sale for a matter of months, a combination of factors points to faster adoption of 3D than of previous new technologies.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6156692.cms

by Fred O’Connor, IDG News

Technology holds the ability to solve some of society’s problems, but can generate new issues or require measures that people are unwilling to take, said Dennis Bushnell, chief scientist at the NASA Langley Research Center, during a Friday talk at the World Futurist Society conference in Boston. The end result is that humans are “in the midst of a wholly unexpected technology revolution.”

http://www.pcworld.com/article/200782/scientist_technology_can_solve_problems_introduce_new_ones.html

by Sean Sweeney, Advance

Let’s take, for example a resource that is indeed Free, Interactive, Visual, Educationally relevant, and Speechie — Earth Sun and Moon—An Interactive Learning Experience. After an engaging and thankfully brief and forgiving arcade game, students are able to navigate their rocket to the Earth, Sun and Moon and use key strokes and mouse movements to make things happen. The activity creates a strong visual experience that helps kids move beyond the simple knowledge that “Yep, we’re on Earth” to understand some of the larger scientific concepts. In the classroom setting, I have seen kids left to their own devices to complete this activity and then be largely unable to articulate what any of it meant. However, with discussion facilitated by the SLP throughout the activity, kids can be scaffolded to use more complex language to produce some wonderful descriptions and connections.

http://community.advanceweb.com/blogs/sp_2/archive/2010/07/06/why-is-the-interactive-element-of-technology-so-important.aspx

by Isin Tuzcular, Helium

Today Internet is a part of a child’s natural environment. A child can access the Internet at school and/or at home anytime. Parents and teachers mostly do not have the computer skills that the children possess and they consider the cyberspace dangerous and try to limit the internet access of children.

http://www.helium.com/items/1882856-the-internet-is-an-educational-tool

By Chad Catacchio, the Next Web

Google is testing multiple account logins for some users according Google Operating System (unofficial blog). The option shows up on testers’ Google Accounts page and works on Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Reader, Google Docs, Google Sites and Google Code.

http://bit.ly/8XjUsz

by Elinor Mills, CNet news.com

The most exploited vulnerabilities tend to be Adobe Reader and Internet Explorer, but a rising target for exploits is Java, according to a report to be released on Wednesday by M86 Security Labs. Of the 15 most exploited vulnerabilities observed by M86 Security Labs during the first half of this year, four involved Adobe Reader and five in Internet Explorer, the lab wrote in its latest security report for January through June 2010. Also on the Top 15 list were vulnerabilities affecting Microsoft Access Snapshot Viewer, Real Player, Microsoft DirectShow, SSreader, and AOL SuperBuddy. Most of the exploits observed had been first reported more than a year earlier and were addressed by vendors, “highlighting the need to keep software updated with the latest versions and patches,” the report said.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20010473-245.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

by Don Reisinger, CNet news.com

A 12th alleged Russian spy recently identified by the U.S. government has a tech connection: he worked for Microsoft. Alexey Karetnikov has been deported to Russia because federal investigators believe he was “in the early stages” of alleged espionage, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. The paper’s anonymous government source asserted that Karetnikov had “obtained absolutely no information” while he was in the United States.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20010488-17.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

by Ina Fried, CNet news.com

With Bing still just a year old, Microsoft clearly doesn’t expect its revamped search offering to be able to go out there and earn a living. But no longer a newborn, Bing will need to do more than look pretty to win parental affection. Microsoft is counting on further gains in market share, not to mention continued progress in emerging areas such as mobile search and mapping. In its first year, Microsoft managed to go from about 8 percent market share to 12.7 percent as of June, according to Comscore. That gain is significant, although the company spent a fortune to get there using both heavy advertising and pricey distribution deals that make Bing the search engine default on new PCs from Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and others.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20010447-56.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1

By Nicholas Kolakowski, eWeek

Windows XP has been given a reprieve by Microsoft—at least, when it comes to users’ ability to downgrade to the popular but aging operating system. Originally slated to terminate within 18 months of Windows 7’s general release, or the availability of Windows 7 Service Pack 1—a beta of which appeared July 12—end-user downgrade rights for Windows XP have now been extended.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Windows/Microsoft-Windows-XP-Users-Can-Keep-Downgrade-Rights-491684/?kc=rss

By Nicholas Kolakowski, eWeek

You can’t doubt Microsoft’s public enthusiasm for tablet PCs, at least among management. During the company’s annual Worldwide Partner Conference here July 12, a variety of executives have taken the stage to proclaim tablets as the way of the future, along with the cloud, and Microsoft’s intention to seize that burgeoning market in the same way it dominated netbooks.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Windows/Microsofts-Tablet-PC-Push-Could-Be-Uphill-321624/?kc=rss

By Clint Boulton, eWeek

Fring, which has enjoyed interconnectivity with Skype for four years, called the VOIP provider “cowards” for allegedly blocking Fring from offering video chat on smartphones. Skype said it didn’t block Fring. In a nasty war of words between VOIP providers, Fring accused Skype of blocking it from letting users make video calls on Apple’s iPhone 4, Google Android and other smartphones and applied the “c-word” to the company.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/VOIP-and-Telephony/Fring-Skype-Engage-in-Blog-War-Over-iPhone-4-593087/?kc=rss